Mission

We advocate for school choice and religious freedom in education and equip Christian schools to promote a biblical worldview.

Advancing

Educational

Freedom

The Virginia Christian Education Network (VCEN) protects the religious liberty of Christian schools and ensures every Virginian family has access to a Gospel-centered education.

VCEN, a division of The Family Foundation of Virginia (TFF) , is a coalition of schools and community members who stand for freedom in education and want to support initiatives that prevent the government from intruding on the right of Christian schools to teach Gospel-centered principles.

With a daily presence in the Virginia legislature, VCEN is your partner in combatting additional regulations that make it tougher to provide Christian education and maintain Christian schools.

VCEN also endeavors to see Virginia offer “true-choice” to families. This means any initiatives to promote school choice programs come with as few strings attached as possible, ensuring private Christian schools do not have to compromise their operating principles in order to have students enrolled on state-sponsored scholarships or tax credit programs.

Core Principles

  • Religious Freedom

    Christian schools should have the freedom under law to operate according to their biblical beliefs.

  • Parents' Rights

    Parents have the fundamental right to direct the upbringing and education of their children.

  • Education Funding

    Virginia should have a “money follows the child” education funding system.

  • Regulation

    School choice programs should come with “no strings attached.”

What We Do

  • Encourage Christian school leaders to participate in public dialogue about the most pressing issues in education and build a network of Christian school advocates who come together to work for school choice and freedom of religious education.

  • Stand in support of parents’ rights to choose the best education for their children and expand school options for families.

  • Oppose any governmental or social intrusion on Christian schools’ right to operate freely.

  • Support the growth of Christian school access by school planting in areas that are under-served.

  • Advocate for religious liberty and educational freedom at the Virginia legislature.

  • Fund students seeking Christian education with our VCEN SGO scholarship program.

Dr. Jeff Brown

Executive Director

Dr. Jeffrey Brown is the executive director of the Virginia Christian Education Network (VCEN). Before joining VCEN, Jeff spent nearly five years as headmaster of the Hunter School, a classical Christian school in Richmond, Virginia. Jeff has been an administrator and educator at Woodberry Forest School, St. Anne’s-Belfield School, and the U.S. House of Representatives Page Program. He served as Director of Workforce Development in three Virginia gubernatorial administrations, was commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industry in the Gilmore Administration, and served as the executive director of the Governor’s Commission on Citizen Empowerment in the Allen Administration. Prior to his work in education and workforce development, Jeff was a Naval aviator, amassing over 1500 hours in tactical jets and helicopters. Jeff holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy, a Master of Arts degree from the Bread Loaf School of English (Middlebury, Vermont and Oxford, England), and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Liberty University. He is married to his high school sweetheart, Lori, and they have two adult daughters and three granddaughters.